Not all about Tenors...

Since I'm a tenor, I think about tenors. But I am not all tenors and sopranos and high-c's, dear readers. Nope, I dislike bad singing in every possible vocal category.

Now then, shall we hear a great mezzo-soprano? The joke of the term is that it can mean two things: a lower female voice than soprano, or a "medium" soprano, meaning one that is not very good. We'll try to stick with the first one here.

Here is the great Ebe Stignani singing from the Camille Saint-Saens opera "Samson et Dalilah," in Italian (composed originally in French, of course). Notice that dark, rich lustre. Stignani still had great high notes, but mezzos sing not usually as high as sopranos, and usually with a different timbre up there- a bit wilder, usually. 

Let's hear another great one:

Here is Fiorenza Cossotto, a great mezzo, not a young woman anymore- notice the power she has in the middle voice to cut through the heavy orchestration, particularly at climactic moments. The last note is a little botched, but the audience goes bonkers, because, let's face it, this is one hell of a great singer. 

Okay, time to go to work, so see everyone later!